Cell-Phone Fix Puts Bricks In MixCell-Phone Fix Puts Bricks In Mix

Most cell-phone users are familiar with the frustration of being cut off in buildings with walls that the signal can't penetrate. Now, a British high-tech research firm has a solution that puts radio transmitters and antennae inside standard-size bricks that can be used in office and home construction.

Roke Manor Research Ltd.'s Bricksat technology addresses cellular-transmission systems as well as mobile IT applications and future implementations of more advanced third-generation mobile-phone technology. To solve the signal loss problem, Roke Manor Research looked at passive solutions, which involve the use of construction materials that are transparent to radio signals, and active solutions, which involve the creation of construction materials with built-in radio receivers and transmitters, says Paul Smith, business unit director for radio devices at the Hampshire, England, company, a subsidiary of Siemens AG.

Of the two approaches, the latter form of "smart brick" holds the most promise for widespread adoption, Smith says. "It's quite doable from a technical standpoint, and there's certainly technology around that could be used to do it."

Bricksat, named to reflect its roots in bricks and the satellites that aid in the conveyance of many radio signals, uses hollow bricks that contain the electrical components necessary to receive and amplify external radio signals. The bricks, on which Roke Manor Research has a patent, have printed circuit boards on two sides that operate as antennae to receive a signal on one side and transmit it on the other. Electrical power for the bricks can come from a building's main electrical supply or can be generated by solar panels on the bricks.

In addition to solving the problem of lost cell-phone conversations, Roke Manor Research says, the smart bricks can be part of next-generation in-building data networks.